Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm criticized the marijuana reclassification, warning it could harm public health and send the wrong message to young people.
“Rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III is a bad idea for the health of Hawai‘i, for both keiki and adults,” Alm told ASD. “It will make selling this new very powerful drug more profitable for those selling marijuana on the Mainland including the Mexican and Chinese cartels that have been moving into the marijuana business.”
Alm said broader trends suggest growing skepticism toward marijuana legalization.
“Nationally, the tide appears to be turning against commercial legalization of marijuana,” he said. “No state has approved marijuana legalization since 2023 and an entire country, Thailand, has reversed course and has moved from commercial legalization to physician prescribed use only.”
He added that increased research into marijuana could strengthen arguments against legalization.
“If this rescheduling leads to more research, that will only strengthen the case against legalization,” Alm said. “All of the research now is compelling about the dangers of legalization and more research will highlight more problems.”
Alm said the shift could minimize perceived risks associated with marijuana use.
“The danger locally is that this rescheduling could send the inaccurate message to our kids and adults that marijuana is harmless,” he said. “Marijuana legalization brings many harms to many people.”
He cited addiction, health risks and public safety concerns.
“One in three marijuana smokers develops marijuana use disorder, edibles are a threat to our children and teens, mental health problems increase as well as more heart attacks and strokes, deadly car crashes increase and HPD has no way to test for it in Driving Under the Influence situations,” Alm said.
Alm also questioned whether the state should benefit financially from marijuana use.
“The daily marijuana smokers, the addicts, are the ones who smoke the vast majority of the marijuana consumed, meaning that’s who Hawai‘i would be making any tax revenue from,” he said. “Does Hawai‘i really want to be in the addiction-for-profit business?”
The state Department of the Attorney General said it is monitoring the situation as the federal process moves forward.
“The Department of the Attorney General is aware of the President’s action directing the reclassification of marijuana under federal law,” the department told ASD. “Reclassification is a federal administrative process that will require additional review and implementation by federal agencies.”
Source:
https://alohastatedaily.com/2025/12/22/hawaii-officials-react-to-trumps-marijuana-reclassification/
